# Advice for a new puffer?



## Nick1233 (May 17, 2013)

Hello all, I am in need of some advice. I'm a fairly new puffer, and I am hoping that some fellow BOTL can steer me in the right direction. I am looking for some suggestions in the $3-4/stick range. I tend to like milder smokes, but I'm trying to branch out so I am willing to try anything at least once. I figured I'd ask before I aimlessly buy a bunch of different cigars to try. Any advice is greatly appreciated, thanks in advance!

Nick


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## Rook83 (Apr 8, 2013)

so I'm a noob too...but I am starting to explore and enjoy this quite a bit...do you have a humidor yet? I'm a pretty big fan of Gurkha...A lot of their cigars are medium bodied and smooth...also great aroma...and if you know where to look, you can get them at a steal...


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## Tika (Sep 20, 2012)

This is easy as I just responded similar in another thread:

Seek out others who know more than you and then quickly learn who out of these folks are full of sh**.

Oh and read lots and post less on this forum.

Smoke!


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## JoeT (Sep 15, 2012)

Its gonna be sorta hard to find a good smoke for around that price but there are a few. My avg price range for a smoke is normally around the 8 dollar range. If its a really good day or company i may go up to 10-11 for a smoke. Well here are a few in your range.

Artuo fuente chateau
" " maduro short story
illusione ~46~ roughly 3.20 per
My Father Le Bijou 1922 petite robusto

also sometimes the tobbacco shops have some house blends that are pretty cheap and not bad.


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## Tobias Lutz (Feb 18, 2013)

:welcome: to the forums Nick!

If you check out some online sellers like Cigarsinternational, you'll find they make sampler bundles based on flavor profile. That would be a great way for you to try a number of different milder sticks without blowing up your wallet. If you have a local smoke shop you can always stop in and let them know what you're looking for. Those guys generally love trying to match the right cigar to a customer's tastes. Hang around and read lots of threads- there is a ton of info here.


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## Regiampiero (Jan 18, 2013)

JoeT said:


> Its gonna be sorta hard to find a good smoke for around that price but there are a few. My avg price range for a smoke is normally around the 8 dollar range. If its a really good day or company i may go up to 10-11 for a smoke. Well here are a few in your range.
> 
> Artuo fuente chateau
> " " maduro short story
> ...


I don't know where Joe buys is cigars, but he needs me to shop for him. I rarely spend more than $4 on a cigar because I wait until I can get them for a song. Speaking of Gurkhas (Great Cigars), I just got a mazo of 20 master select 6x60 (Golf course smokes) for $3 a piece. I got some Olivia's V for $3.50 a piece on cbid, and I have a bunch of AB Tempus I got for $3 per quadrum.

Money is not going to be an issue for beginning puffers IMO. You're going to spend a lot more when you start expanding your palate and want to pick up an Don Carlos, Padron 1964, Opus...and so on. For now I suggest you stick to samplers and try to find your favorites. Speaking of which...CI (Cigar International) always has a captain McMellow deal that includes 10 mild-medium smokes for about $30. That might be a start.


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## DTPRB (May 15, 2013)

Regiampiero said:


> Money is not going to be an issue for beginning puffers IMO. You're going to spend a lot more when you start expanding your palate and want to pick up an Don Carlos, Padron 1964, Opus...and so on. For now I suggest you stick to samplers and try to find your favorites. Speaking of which...CI (Cigar International) always has a captain McMellow deal that includes 10 mild-medium smokes for about $30. That might be a start.


I am new and i think i'm doing it wrong. I enjoy the Padron 2000 serie but have my small (30 ct) humidor full of nice stuff. I figure if i'm only going to smoke one or two a week might as well smoke the nice stuff. I tried buying some cheaper ones, but can tell a difference between crappy and nice even though I don't have the palate to tell you what flavors exactly I am tasing (still trying to figure that out).

I had a La Aroma de Cuba last night that I really liked and last week had a Liga Privada #9 that I really liked.


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## smokeyme (Apr 21, 2013)

Regiampiero said:


> I don't know where Joe buys is cigars, but he needs me to shop for him. I rarely spend more than $4 on a cigar because I wait until I can get them for a song. Speaking of Gurkhas (Great Cigars), I just got a mazo of 20 master select 6x60 (Golf course smokes) for $3 a piece. I got some Olivia's V for $3.50 a piece on cbid, and I have a bunch of AB Tempus I got for $3 per quadrum.
> 
> Money is not going to be an issue for beginning puffers IMO. You're going to spend a lot more when you start expanding your palate and want to pick up an Don Carlos, Padron 1964, Opus...and so on. For now I suggest you stick to samplers and try to find your favorites. Speaking of which...CI (Cigar International) always has a captain McMellow deal that includes 10 mild-medium smokes for about $30. That might be a start.


Thanks for the advice


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## Nick1233 (May 17, 2013)

Thanks for the answers so far guys, I've been hearing a lot of good things about Gurkhas so I think I'll pick up a few in addition to a sample or two. I've also heard rave reviews about Padron so I may pick up a few as treats.


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## Merleos (Apr 23, 2013)

Hey Nick, don't know about individual sticks at that price, if you are buying from a retail shop. I would suggest exploring the 5-7 dollar range. When you find some you like, you can probably get them cheaper on line buying in quantity. I think fewer good smokes trumps inexpensive ones that are dodgy.


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## bleber (Oct 13, 2012)

I know there are many debates about price vs. quality on here, and how price alone is not an indicator of a good cigar. And I agree that it's not, particularly on the upper end. However, I've found that if I stick to the $5 and slightly up range, almost everything is palatable. ALMOST. For instance, you get nearly the entire Oliva line for just over $5 (except maybe the Melanio etc.). It then comes down to your personal preference in flavor profile.


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## Nick1233 (May 17, 2013)

Thanks again guys, and yeah I hadn't thought about the fact that singles will be a little more than ordering bulk online. I agree with the quality over quantity as well, I'm just trying to gradually build up to that (no sense in ruining a box of $8-9+ cigars because of rookie mistakes  ).


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## Wicked_Rhube (Jul 29, 2012)

Nick1233 said:


> Thanks again guys, and yeah I hadn't thought about the fact that singles will be a little more than ordering bulk online. I agree with the quality over quantity as well, I'm just trying to gradually build up to that (no sense in ruining a box of $8-9+ cigars because of rookie mistakes  ).


Also no sense in skipping over the vast array of deliciousness that exists in your original $3/$4 range. I highly suggest you get acquainted with the Monster from famous smoke shop. They constantly have 5 packs of great cigars for $15 to $22 with free shipping. I'd try the Perdomo 10th Champagne, the Perdomo Habano CT, and it would not be a bad idea at all to pick up the "Best of" samplers from Oliva or Alec Bradley.

Other than that, if you have anything you care about near your mailbox I'd move it. You never know what kind of ordinance might just happen to land there around say wednesday or thursday of next week........


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## Regiampiero (Jan 18, 2013)

I just picked-up three La Perla 5-packs samplers as a gift from cbid for les than $2 per stick. It goes to show you can get some very decent deals on good cigars. You just need to know where to look. Another place is the sprint sales at cigars.com, where just last month I got 10 Oliva G toros for $28.


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## DTPRB (May 15, 2013)

Id like to go to cbid I just know enough yet to trust myseld in the actual value of stuff id be bidding on.


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## TJB (Dec 10, 2012)

Padron 3000 maduro, surrogates tramp stamp, Arturo fuente don carlos, and when you develop a palate, padron 1964 anniversary maduro anything


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## Regiampiero (Jan 18, 2013)

DTPRB said:


> Id like to go to cbid I just know enough yet to trust myseld in the actual value of stuff id be bidding on.


Usually you'll have plenty of time to research a specific blend and size value on cbid. If you do it from a laptop, you can open two different windows, one for cbid and one for CI (Or any other website you normally shop from) so that you can compare the prices from one site to the other. The sprint sale from Cigar.com is a whole different story since you have about 30 to 60 seconds to make your decision. In ether case. If you can get name brand blends for around $3 per stick, you pull that trigger first and ask questions later. Wait...that's how I became a cigaraholic in the first place. Maybe I'm not the best person to give that kind of advice! :smoke:


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## DTPRB (May 15, 2013)

Lol. I am new and already am really into it.


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## Nick1233 (May 17, 2013)

DTPRB said:


> Id like to go to cbid I just know enough yet to trust myseld in the actual value of stuff id be bidding on.


That's exactly how I feel! I think for now I'm going to take the suggestions and do a mix of online and local hunting. Lots of great advice, and it is greatly appreciated! The only downside to the suggestions is that now I'm going to need a bigger humidor :hmm:


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## DTPRB (May 15, 2013)

Nick1233 said:


> That's exactly how I feel! I think for now I'm going to take the suggestions and do a mix of online and local hunting. Lots of great advice, and it is greatly appreciated! The only downside to the suggestions is that now I'm going to need a bigger humidor :hmm:


Yeah. I bought a small humidor and now need a bigger one


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## djsmiles (Aug 4, 2012)

Nica Libre. Box's can be had for about $30. And they are very tasty.


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## ghe-cl (Apr 9, 2005)

For a mild smoke, the Private Stock long filler line from Davidoff is a low-priced, quality cigar. Also, visit some of the Milwaukee B&Ms.


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## Nick1233 (May 17, 2013)

I was planning on it, I have off the next couple of days and planned on doing some browsing before I hit the lake for some fishing. I think I may pick up a 6-pack or two from FSS, it seems like that is the way to go since there are a few that feature multiple recommendations from this thread. Plus the pricing isn't bad and it seems that most are around $5/stick.


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## Questionablesanity (Jul 24, 2012)

I don't know if these are as cheap as you are wanting but here are my suggestions on ~$7 or less smokes:

Oliva: O or G are usually on the cheap side
Perdomo: Champagne, Noir, and the 20th anniversary stuff
Padron: The X000s are awesome and the Londres are great cheap smokes

These are some of my favorite cheaper smokes. In my opinion things really open up in the $10 to $13 range. I do not really have a lot of experience higher than that though. 

When I started smoking some of the best advice I was given on here was not to buy to much. Stay away from boxes and stick to fivers and singles until you start to narrow down your own taste. Like others have suggested cigarbid and cigarmonster are great ways to try a lot of cigars on the cheap side. When I started buying from there I would leave one tab open on cigarinternational's website and just compare back and forth.


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## Wicked_Rhube (Jul 29, 2012)

Questionablesanity said:


> I don't know if these are as cheap as you are wanting but here are my suggestions on ~$7 or less smokes:
> 
> Oliva: O or G are usually on the cheap side
> Perdomo: Champagne, Noir, and the 20th anniversary stuff
> ...


Online these are all $4 or less regularly, except for the 20th anny stuff. Damn fine smokes for sure though.


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## Isaac (Jan 3, 2013)

As someone who JUST stopped referring to themselves as a noob, heres my advice.....

I agree with getting strength based samplers. You can taste different stuff in your comfort zone. If you are willing to explore slightly stronger stuff, my favorite sampler so far is the My Father and Friends Sampler. You can usually pick it up off Cbid for <$30. I picked mine up for $20, but that was luck. Its 8 sticks that would normaly run you from $3-8. The strongest of these,IMO, weighs in at a heavy medium. I LOVED every one. Turned me into a Don Pepin/Jamie Garcia fan!!!

I would stay away from the $3-4 sticks at retail locations. You might find a jewel in the rough, but best to wait until you know what you are looking for before you go slumming. You wouldn't want to turn yourself off to cigars by 5 or 6 "dog rockets" in a row. B&Ms prices are usually 1.5 to 2 times (sometimes more) of what you can find online. $7-10 at a B&M is a good price range to give yourself a good chance of finding a smoke you like. $3-4 on an auction site??...Go For It! , Those are usually the $7-10 sticks you will find in the store. Tons of good sticks in that range. 

Some I like:
Nub
Arturo Fuente 8-5-8's
Vegas 5

Also....just read!.....see what people are talking about or put in the "just smoked" part of their profile. (a lot of people dont change these for every stick and dont go through the trouble for a stick they didnt like.)


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## piperdown (Jul 19, 2009)

If you like mild and want to add a few to try:

Oliva connecticut reserve-go for the lonsdale
CAO Gold-corona

If you want to branch off try some maduros from both makers listed above.


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## Nick1233 (May 17, 2013)

So far I have two 6ct samplers ready to be ordered from FSS... The first is 2x Arturo Fuente 858 Maduro, 2x Oliva Serie G Robusto Maduro, and 2x Rocky Patel Vintage 1990 Robusto Maduro. The second is 2x La Gloria Cubana Wavell Natural, 2x Romeo y Julieta 1875 Churchill Natural, and 2x Rocky Patel Vintage 1992 Robusto Dark Natural. I may order one pack at a time due to space constraints (and the fact that I don't go through them that fast).


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## jb2jb (Apr 14, 2012)

Try an Ashton Classic and then buy several differnt cigars. If you don't like them toss them but one day you may find your way back to them and love them. Keep an opened mind bro. Peaceful puffing.


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## Regiampiero (Jan 18, 2013)

Nick1233 said:


> That's exactly how I feel! I think for now I'm going to take the suggestions and do a mix of online and local hunting. Lots of great advice, and it is greatly appreciated! The only downside to the suggestions is that now I'm going to need a bigger humidor :hmm:





DTPRB said:


> Yeah. I bought a small humidor and now need a bigger one


That is why you'll hear a lot of people in this forum suggest the same thing when you're shopping for a new humidor. "Pick out the one you think its going to be good enough, and then buy the one double the size!"


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## OrangeAstronaut (May 15, 2013)

Regiampiero said:


> That is why you'll hear a lot of people in this forum suggest the same thing when you're shopping for a new humidor. "Pick out the one you think its going to be good enough, and then buy the one double the size!"


I bought a 25 cigar humidor for school, and have my dad's old 40(?) cigar humidor at home when I fill up mine. I'm just not able to fill it up that quickly on a student budget, so I think my 25 should last for a while now!


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## DTPRB (May 15, 2013)

I opted for a humidor kit from cheaphumidors. I got the capri glass top kit that says 25-50. I have like 30-ish in it and its full. I'm looking for something in the 200 ct range and think i'm just gonna use a cooler until I find what I want that looks nice. Space is at a premium in my man cave and a cooler on top of a table doesn't quite look as nice as I'd like.


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## Wicked_Rhube (Jul 29, 2012)

9505 5102 9135 3140 5094 36

MSRP be damned, you are about to see how nice some $3 smokes can be.....


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## jeepman_su (Mar 8, 2012)

Wicked_Rhube said:


> 9505 5102 9135 3140 5094 36
> 
> MSRP be damned, you are about to see how nice some $3 smokes can be.....


Nice! I love it!


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## Regiampiero (Jan 18, 2013)

Wicked_Rhube said:


> 9505 5102 9135 3140 5094 36
> 
> MSRP be damned, you are about to see how nice some $3 smokes can be.....


I'm confused...What am I supposed to do with these numbers? I think I'm overthinking this a little.


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## Nick1233 (May 17, 2013)

Regiampiero said:


> I'm confused...What am I supposed to do with these numbers? I think I'm overthinking this a little.


It may just be me, but judging from the comment earlier in the thread, it sounds like there is some ordinance on its way... Which sounds like a good thing :smoke:

I think I will try to finish off the last of my El-Cheapo sticks (one way or another) and then start picking up some of the suggestions from this thread.


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## DTPRB (May 15, 2013)

I was confused too


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## Gordo1473 (Dec 1, 2012)

Oh newbs lol it's a bomb duck you have incoming ordinance. It's a USPS tracking number


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## DTPRB (May 15, 2013)

Lol.. Oh. That makes sense.


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## Nick1233 (May 17, 2013)

Haha well I like ordinance either way since I'm a gun nut, but an incoming cigar bomb sounds good!


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## madbricky (Mar 29, 2013)

I'm still stuck with a couple dozen budget cigars that need lots of humidor time to vent the ammonia and its going to take a while before I can suggest anything.
from what you posted your smokes are really nice. Some of these suggestions are just fine for upper middle class.
Good luck with your new hobby!


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## elvis70 (Apr 26, 2013)

Two really nice mild sticks I've tried recently:
Gurkha status maduro 
CAO black 

Both really excellent construction & good even burn. The CAO was almost too pretty to smoke - it looked nicer than the few high dollar Cohibas I've tried.


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## Regiampiero (Jan 18, 2013)

Gordo1473 said:


> Oh newbs lol it's a bomb duck you have incoming ordinance. It's a USPS tracking number


Oh! OK. Yes...I'm not familiar with bombs and ordinance, my local B&M shop just refuses to give me a free stick every once in a while! You would think after having bought half a box of gurkha cellar reserves, he would feel generous. :hurt:


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## DTPRB (May 15, 2013)

Regiampiero said:


> Oh! OK. Yes...I'm not familiar with bombs and ordinance, my local B&M shop just refuses to give me a free stick every once in a while! You would think after having bought half a box of gurkha cellar reserves, he would feel generous. :hurt:


I was unfamiliar with the bombs as well. However my local b&m did give me a free cigar last time I was there. if you bought 4 padrons they gave you one of there local house blends. I like padrons so I bought a couple 3000 and a couple 5000. Haven't smoked the house blend yet though.


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## Nick1233 (May 17, 2013)

Well the bomb has landed, much thanks to Wicked_Rhube! I will be making a thread shortly (as soon as I can find the proper place to do so).


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## sjcruiser36 (Dec 20, 2012)

For mild sticks I prefer:

Perdomo 10th Anniversary Champagne
5 Vegas Gold


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## Nick1233 (May 17, 2013)

Well I already made a thread for the Bomb, but I figured I'd update this thread with the info as well. Again, a big thank you to Wicked_Rhube for the sticks and the advice!

And here is the ordinance


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## Nick1233 (May 17, 2013)

I think I'm going to pick the Exodus 1959 to try first, that one wins purely based on aroma so far. The Alec Bradley is next, and the Obsidian after that I believe...


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## Tika (Sep 20, 2012)

Nice. 

Let us know what you think of that Graycliff Avalino 80th.


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## Nick1233 (May 17, 2013)

Just had the Exodus, and I thoroughly enjoyed it :smoke: Absolutely beautiful out and I only work a half day today, so I parked myself on the front lawn with some Gentleman Jack and grabbed the Exodus. I'm not very good at describing smokes yet but I did really like it. It was a touch dry (my error) but still smoked very well.


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## Nick1233 (May 17, 2013)

Tika said:


> Nice.
> 
> Let us know what you think of that Graycliff Avalino 80th.


I had the Graycliff today, very good smoke! So far, I'm 3 for 3 out of this sampling. The Exodus, Obsidian, and the Graycliff were all excellent!


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## Wicked_Rhube (Jul 29, 2012)

Nick1233 said:


> I had the Graycliff today, very good smoke! So far, I'm 3 for 3 out of this sampling. The Exodus, Obsidian, and the Graycliff were all excellent!


Glad to hear that about the Avelino! I have a bunch of those because I got one in a trade and loved it, then bought more for like $2 each on the devil site. About one in three has been borderline un-smokeable due to very very tight draw, but when they are open I really enjoy them. I've read reviews that offer similar experiences, so I'm glad that this particular one was enjoyable.


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## Nick1233 (May 17, 2013)

Wicked_Rhube said:


> Glad to hear that about the Avelino! I have a bunch of those because I got one in a trade and loved it, then bought more for like $2 each on the devil site. About one in three has been borderline un-smokeable due to very very tight draw, but when they are open I really enjoy them. I've read reviews that offer similar experiences, so I'm glad that this particular one was enjoyable.


Thanks again! And yeah, zero problems with the draw on that one, it did seem like it went pretty fast though (I wasn't even puffing too often). I may have to scour the devil site on Thursday (pay day) and grab a few things now :smoke2:


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## BurnOne (Feb 26, 2012)

RG for the Rhube


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